DUPLICATE

By
Naomi Spencer
14 July 2016

On Friday, July 8, Socialist Equality Party supporters filed for Kentucky write-in ballot status with the secretary of state at the capitol building in Frankfort. The filing means that voters who write in the SEP’s presidential candidate Jerry White on the ballot November 8 will have their choice legally recognized.

Supporters from across the state—including from the cities of Louisville, Lexington, Winchester, and Morehead—volunteered to stand as official electors on the application. Many of the electors expressed a desire to bring the internationalist perspective of the SEP campaign to the working class in Kentucky.

Some also expressed a concern for the democratic rights both of voters and for the SEP’s candidates and supporters. “I believe in basic democratic principles, and as such, anyone should be able to run for office,” said Ashley.

“I volunteered to be an elector to give the voters of Kentucky a real choice for president,” explained Mike, an elector from eastern Kentucky. “Jerry White is the one candidate on the ballot who understands the real issues we face. Especially here in Appalachia.”

Ryan commented: “I am proud to be an elector because I support the SEP’s program. I want Kentucky workers to have the option to support a party that represents their interests.”

“I volunteered to be an elector because I am tired of the only options us voters have at the ballot being war and more war,” said Chris, a factory worker in central Kentucky. “The working class deserves a candidate that represents the needs of the people and not the profits of the banks.

“The war on terror has been the biggest failure of foreign policy that I can remember. Every year, they take more and more from us workers and bring nothing but death and destruction to other poor nations who cannot even defend themselves. All in the name of corporate greed.

“The organization of the working class is our only way out. I am grateful to have the opportunity to support the SEP and its fight for international socialism and the unity of mankind.”

“As a Kentucky worker, I am proud to serve as an elector for the Socialist Equality Party,” said Charles, “because the working class here needs a voice independent of the wealthy elite to represent its interests.

“In Kentucky, at the same time we’re seeing a collapse in the coal industry and seeing its effects reverberate through other industries like steel and rail in the form of mass layoffs, we’re seeing a relentless assault on social programs such as health care and food assistance. This is done through collaboration between both parties at the state and national level.

“Workers here need to reject the political framework of a system of political parties of the rich and recognize that they have far more in common with workers in Southeast Asia and elsewhere than with the representatives of the two parties of big business.

“The SEP presidential campaign represents the conscious response of the international working class to these attacks and a recognition that their origins lie in the crisis of the capitalist system themselves. I call on Kentucky’s working class and poor to support the SEP in the elections this fall.”

The SEP warmly welcomes and encourages supporters and readers of the World Socialist Web Site —in Kentucky and across the country—to actively support the campaign.

We urge you to get involved today. Visit SEP2016.com to follow the campaign, donate, and volunteer.